Following Success of the Care Line, eir Launches Age Friendly Care Services in All Irish Stores, Making it Easy for Everyone to Stay Connected

eir, Ireland’s largest telecommunications provider, is extending its Age Friendly Care service to all its stores across Ireland, providing dedicated customer care and technical support service to senior customers, aged 65 and over.

Co-designed in partnership with Age Friendly Ireland and Age Action, the Age Friendly Care initiative is designed based on a bespoke care programme that takes the complexity out of the services and helps build relationships with customers by making everything simple – from bills to mobile data, broadband or landline queries. 

Initially consisting of a dedicated phone line for customers aged 65 and over, with a team of 20 dedicated agents specially trained in technical and soft skills, the service has grown in popularity since its introduction, with over 65,000 calls received to the Age Friendly Care line, with 23,500 calls in 2023 alone. The average time spent on each call is 10.5 minutes, and average answer speed of 1m 10s. The bespoke care approach has proven so successful that eir is now introducing in-person Age Friendly Care to their customers, in stores. The Age Friendly Care team was recognised by industry at the CCMA awards in 2022 taking home the prestigious title of Care Team of the Year. 

Commenting on the launch of the in-store Age Friendly Care services, Sinead O’Gorman Managing Director of eir’s Customer Operations said: “At eir, our purpose is to connect for a better Ireland. Our experience during the pandemic made it clear that our customers rely on our stores and in person care for more than shopping: we’re here to provide them with care, answer their questions and help overcome connectivity challenges. Based on the success we’ve had with the initiative for almost two years since launch, we’re delighted to bring our hugely popular Age Friendly Care programme to life in our stores. The team in-store has been specially trained to provide care for older customers every day. If a customer feels they want more time to discuss their problem, dedicated in-store time for Age Friendly Care support has been set aside each Tuesday morning between 10 am and 12 pm.”

Susan Brady Managing Director eir Consumer and Small Business commented: “At eir, we are committed to providing our customers with the best possible in person retail experience. Alongside introducing new in-person services such as Age Friendly Care we're proud to announce this significant €4 million investment in our retail network and unveil our new look stores, which reflect our commitment to offering the best of modern retailing and in-store experiences. We are progressing the transformation work at pace to ensure minimum disruption for our customers.``

eir’s ‘age friendly’ care line can be reached on 1800 252 252 and will be accessible between the hours of 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday. If an older person wishes to nominate a friend or family member to manage their account on their behalf, this nominee can work with the age-friendly care team to resolve any issues. Age friendly support is available in all eir’s stores every day, with a dedicated slot from 10am to 12pm on Tuesdays for queries that may take a bit longer.